Newbie Here With Hard Question

[Brutalwarpig]

#@Brutalwarpig -​

Okay I guess Santa Clause is coming early this year and I've got the green light to get another drone. So, with that being said, I've got two questions for you or anyone else.
#1: If you have a choice between the DJI Mini 3 and DJI Mini 3 Pro which one would you get and what are the differences?
#2: I want to get the controller without the screen built in. So how do I attach my phone or tablet onto the controller (just to view what the camera sees)?
Thanks
Dan

Personally I prefer the Mini 3 (not the Mini 3 Pro). The Mini 3 battery

#@Brutalwarpig -​

Okay I guess Santa Clause is coming early this year and I've got the green light to get another drone. So, with that being said, I've got two questions for you or anyone else.
#1: If you have a choice between the DJI Mini 3 and DJI Mini 3 Pro which one would you get and what are the differences?
#2: I want to get the controller without the screen built in. So how do I attach my phone or tablet onto the controller (just to view what the camera sees)?
Thanks
Dan

I own a Mini 3 with the RC1 screen controller and I love it. That said the Mini 3 has a 12mp camera sensor, the Pro has 48mp. The Mini 3 has longer battery life but only downward collision avoidance. The Pro also has downward collision avoidance but also has forward and backward collision avoidance. They use the same batteries. My Mini 3 has been great but I fly cautiously and altough I've had a few close calls, i have never crashed any of my drones. If you want to use the tracking function, you may want to get the Pro. No difference between the 2 as far as how they fly. I guess it really comes down to how much you want to spend. The RC-N1 (no screen) controller uses a USB to micro USB, USB to USB-C or USB to Lightning cable to connect to whichever device you choose to use. One thing to consider is the remotes with built in screen have between 700 and 1000 nits of brightness. This makes them bright enough for use in direct sunlight. Very few cellphones or tablets have screens with more than 300 or 400 nits of brightness. I think the new IPhone goes to 600 or 700 nits but if it's warm outside or the phone gets hot, the IPhone automatically dims the screen making it hard to see in bright sunlight. There are some ruggedized high brightness Android tablets but the cheapest Tripletech tablet is about $400 up to nearly $1000. Personally, I only fly drones that have built in screen controllers. I always have a bright screen that I can easily see in bright sunlight. I can download GPS maps then keep the remote in airplane mode. On some cellphones, receiving a call can interfere with your drone if it's in flight. I'm also concerned about potential malware or spyware on my personal cellphone.

#@Brutalwarpig -​

Okay I guess Santa Clause is coming early this year and I've got the green light to get another drone. So, with that being said, I've got two questions for you or anyone else.
#1: If you have a choice between the DJI Mini 3 and DJI Mini 3 Pro which one would you get and what are the differences?
#2: I want to get the controller without the screen built in. So how do I attach my phone or tablet onto the controller (just to view what the camera sees)?
Thanks
Dan

 

[Brutalwarpig]

@Brutalwarpig - I tried to edit my last post, but couldn't. So here is something for ya. Target 1 and Target 2 are both from 250 feet. Just messing around with the CCTV camera that I have out next to my backstop. Target1 is before and Target 2 is after.​

Probably a lot cheaper than my target camera system and the picture is just as good.

 

[timlab55]

@Brutalwarpig -​

He answers - wow LOL. Alot has happen around here, but just for the drone part I'll fill you in. But first, did you get my two CCTV camera pictures of my target? Makes a big different from 250 feet away.

Okay, here we go about the drone problem. So Santa Clause gave me the green light and also said "This will be the last one, unless you hit the jackpot in the Lottery." So I really had to do my homework and look and look since I could get anyone from Drone Pilots to answer me with my decision making. So to make a long story short, the drone I decided to go with (drum roll please), was the Mini 2 SE. Why? Because it does everything I need a Drone to do, I'm not flying that far and I'm only going to use it after a storm. I was thinking about going with the Holy Stone HS720G. However, after a several reviews that I saw and read, they all have a common problem which I do not need at all which is called "Toilet Bowling". This company has the highest rate of their drone's doing this. I know, they all do it including dji, but with my drones that I had in the past, I never had it. So again dji wins.

Now my other problem is I have to sell my two Phanton 3 standards as parts or if they person wants to try and put them back together (camera ribbon broke on me). How can and where can I sell them? Who can I find that can put the camera ribbon back on for me to be able to make them fly?

Anyway, this is long enough so I have to go.
Have a good day.
Dan

 

[Brutalwarpig]

The DJI Mini 4k or Mini2 se are all good. DJI ruined me for other drone brands. At least so far. I have a FIMI X8 Pro and a FIMI X8 2022SE V2. They are decent drones but they are nowhere near as stable and the cameras aren't very good. I've heard good things about Potensic Atom but I've never flown one. The deal maker/breaker for me is DJI's Care Refresh program. DJI is the only brand with U.S. service centers which makes a huge difference if you need repair or warranty service. Normally I would recommend a DJI authorized service center for your Phantom 3 repair but since the model is no longer supported, I don't know if they would still repair it or not. Personally I would use Facebook Marketplace to sell them. There's a buy/sell page on the Drone Pilots Community website but I have no idea what kind of traffic it gets. I also like the idea of being able to see personal information on people's Facebook page before agreeing to meet for a sale or purchase.

Yes I saw your target pics. They looked great! As good ad my Caldwell LR target camera system.

 

[timlab55]

I was almost floored yesterday when the Mini 2 SE came in the mail. I was expecting maybe a little bit bigger box, but no, I pull out this little tiny box. When I took out the drone, my wife and I had to take a extra breath and then she said "WOW, that's a small thing. I sort of laughed when I got my Phantom 3. Any suggestions with it? UPDATE: Drone flew today for the first time. There where no problems that I could see, and knowing DJI there shouldn't be any at this time. Doesn't mean things can't change either. Just one question which I'm sure you can answer for me. Why so much heat? I picked the little thing up after landing and it was warm. Touch my phone and it was a little more warmer. Things cool down tho almost immediately. Did you/or have you noticed this problem too?
I do have my DJI FLY app on my phone and I'm waiting for my tablet (monday it get's here). Is there anyway possible to go into the settings, change things with out turning on the drone?

 

[Brutalwarpig]

Yes, all my DJI drones get pretty warm during use. Never caused any problems though.

 

[AeroNerd42]

In your price range, I'd definitely recommend checking out Facebook Marketplace—you can often find great deals on used drones there. You might even come across a good deal on a newer DJI model like the Mavic Mini or Mini 2, which are both solid in light breezes and offer great value.

 

[wdfly]

#@Brutalwarpig -​

Okay I guess Santa Clause is coming early this year and I've got the green light to get another drone. So, with that being said, I've got two questions for you or anyone else.
#1: If you have a choice between the DJI Mini 3 and DJI Mini 3 Pro which one would you get and what are the differences?
#2: I want to get the controller without the screen built in. So how do I attach my phone or tablet onto the controller (just to view what the camera sees)?
Thanks
Dan

I picked up a mini 4 pro (wish I had not but not because it is bad but I would have wished I waited and saved the $1000 for something else) and I have the Air 3S. I love both of these drones as they fly excellently. I've been looking at the Autel drone that has both a regular camera and FLIR with the thoughts of getting into SAR. I have been passively looking for a way to get into SAR and plan to pursue that route first and then get something else to help me achieve more with it or if I cannot, simply not spending the money.

 

[Brutalwarpig]

I am also interested in using thermal, cameras, night vision etc. I also want to experiment with millimeter wave radar, lidar and possibly robotics on a UAV platform. I realized that the only practical way to do everything I wanted would be building my own custom UAV. I have built 2 large multirotor UAVs. One is a Tarot 680 Pro and the other is a 4 axis drone with coaxial motors on each arm for a total of 8 motors/props. The learning curve is fairly steep but I am in the finishing stages of the hexacopter build. I'm currently waiting on a SIYI MK32 transmitter/remote controller and the HM30 air unit. I am also talking with SIYI to review their brand new Uni7 ground station RC which has up to a 40km transmission range. Hopefully SIYI will choose me for this review as I will receive a $1000 system for free in return for creating content for SIYI.
This whole experience has been a wonderful adventure.
I'll post pics and video once the build is complete.
If you want to get into SAR without building your own aircraft the Anzu Robotics Raptor is one of the cheapest quality drones that I know of that has both a high quality visible light camera with a high power zoom lense and a good quality thermal camera. It's still fairly expensive at around $4000. The DJI or autel platforms with those same capabilities are in the $5000 to $10,000 range.
It sounds like you have changed your mind from what you said in your first posts in this thread.
The same thing happened to me. After buying my first high quality drone and learning about the ever growing uses drones can be adapted to, i wanted more as well. That's why I went straight to building my own drones. I can continuously change each aircraft to suit whatever payload or use I decide to pursue.

 

[wdfly]

I would be interested in following any documentation you've created during this project. I would love to get into SAR as well and have been looking at the Autel and Mavic enterprise series but cannot justify the price until I actually get into SAR. Finding that entry point in my local area seems to be elusive to me, I seem to be looking in the wrong places.

 

[Brutalwarpig]

I know many people with drones volunteered to help out in any way they could when the recent hurricane hit the Carolinas and Tennessee. If I were you I would contact your state or local Emergency Management Association. FEMA is the federal level agency and in my state of Tennessee it's called TEMA (Tennessee Emergency Management Association). Also your local fire department. There are several small companies that use drones with thermal cameras to locate wounded game animals when a hunter unintentionally wounds an animal. In most states hunters are required by law to recover any game animal that they wound. These animals will run fast and far before becoming incapacitated. A thermal drone is one of the best ways to find these animals. Some of these businesses operate drones large enough to lift the injured animal and bring it to a staging area. Of course these platforms are prohibitively expensive. $10,000!
I received my SIYI MK32 with HM30 air unit 2 days ago. I also purchased a SIYI A8 4k three axis gimbal/camera to use for my Tarot 680 Pro build. I have the frame built, power distribution board installed, all 6 motors and ESCs installed and tested. I have the flight controller, GPS system, PMU, BEC, and retractable landing gear all installed. My next steps are to install the new gimbal/camera, AI tracking module and receiver. Next will be setting up the RC/ground station and fine tune each input. With this setup I can connect the transmitter up to my PC and run a program like Qgroundcontrol or MissionPlanner. This would be a very useful function for SAR. With a ground control program you can create and define an automated search pattern. The PC will actually fly the drone following the search pattern so that you can focus on controlling the camera and searching for people in distress. The hardware is where the expense is. The programs are inexpensive or open sourced and free.
I am making a video or two about my experiences with the SIYI system and Tarot 680 Pro build. I will post pics and a link to any relevant video as I can. Have a blessed day brother.